


A Different Life

by owlmoose



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluffy bunny fic about cold-hearted killers in love, Missing Scene, Post-Game(s), Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-03
Packaged: 2018-03-16 03:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3472964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlmoose/pseuds/owlmoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Malika Cadash has a conversation with Blackwall about the darkness in his past, and in hers. Post-game, major spoilers for Blackwall's personal quest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Different Life

"I still don’t understand why you forgave me, but I’m grateful that you did."

Malika looked up at her Blackwall with a small smile, then wound her hand through his, leading him onto the balcony. The sun was setting behind the mountain, and she leaned against him, the quilted padding of his doublet soft against her cheek. It was nice to be out of the overly-warm, overly-crowded hall, out from under watchful eyes and hopeful expectations. All that would still be there tomorrow; she would deal with it then. For now, she had to face a conversation that had waited too long already.

”Blackwall— Thom.” He stirred beneath her cheek, looked down at her. “You know me, who and what I am. Or was, at least, before all this.” She twirled a hand in the air to encompass not just Skyhold, but the entire Inquisition. “I worked for the Carta. And the Carta worked for coin, and we weren’t always too particular who gave it to us, or why.”

He tipped his head to the side. “You said you weren’t an enforcer. That you weren’t into anything too violent.”

Malika shook her head. “I never said anything of the kind. No one ever asked, except for Josephine, and she— well, I let her hear what she wanted to hear. I did try to avoid bloodshed, whenever possible. But I suspect my standards are somewhat lower than hers.” She stepped out of his embrace to lean her hands on the wall, the last rays of the sun warming her face. “You realize, I didn’t just work for the Carta. I was born to it. My family's been Carta ever since their exile to the surface, at least half a dozen generations back.” He nodded. “So I know what it means to do things for money and not be proud of them. That was almost all I ever did.”

He rested a hand atop her head, burying his fingers into her hair. “You were different then,” he said. “It was a different life.”

She nodded. “A life I’m not sure I could go back to, even if I wanted to. The Divine changed me. The Inquisition changed me. And you, you changed me, too.” 

He didn’t respond; after a long minute of silence, she turned and looked up at him. His eyes were closed, his face turned away. “What is it?”

His voice was soft. “Do you regret the things you did for the Carta?”

"Some of them," she admitted. "I… I never went quite as far over the line as you did. But bad enough. I don’t always sleep as well as I like." She twisted her head free of his grip and stood in front of him, resting her hands on his waist. "I suppose that explains why you toss and turn as much as you do."

"You’re probably right." He opened his eyes and touched the underside of her chin. "Despite everything, I slept well in prison. Maybe now that we’ve finally talked about this, the last of the nightmares will finally be gone."

She lifted her palms to his chest and pressed close. “I’ll do my best to keep them at bay.” 

He covered her hands with his. “You already do.” He leaned down and kissed her, softer than before, with more promise. “It’s odd,” he said, backing away. “Hearing you call me by my proper name. I could never be Thom Rainier again, but I might be able to bear Thom Blackwall.”

"No rush to decide," she said. She stepped back into his arms, let him fold himself around her. "Whatever your name is, I’m glad you’re here."


End file.
